1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to basketball goals. In particular, the invention relates to resilient basketball goals with flexible hoops and the assembly thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
It has become commonplace in the sport of basketball for players to attempt to dunk the ball in the rim. Many players, whether intentionally or not, tend to place a great deal of force on the rim such that the backboard to which the rim is attached is damaged or fractured. Proposals have been made in the past to provide a resilient connection between the rim and the backboard. Such proposals have recognized that while a rigid connection is desirable, flexibility of the assembly is essential to prevent damage to the backboard.
Flexible basketball goal assemblies that have been developed are complex and require a great deal of effort to assemble. Such assemblies are assembled by the manufacturer due to their complexity. The cost of these goals is high due to the nature of the components involved as well as the cost of assembling the components. Moreover, the manufacturer is able to produce fewer goals because of the time requirement to assemble each unit. Additionally, once assembled, the basketball goal takes up more shipping space than if the components of the goal were being shipped unassembled. This not only results in increased shipping costs, but also presents the manufacturer or retailer with storage concerns.
Consumers cannot, however, be expected to assemble complex items such as conventional flexible goal assemblies. The notion of consumer assembly of the complex goals described above is contrary to most business practices. Such assemblies comprise numerous complex components which, if assembled improperly, could cause a complete failure of the goal and possible injury to the user as assembled. Such systems are better left to be assembled by the manufacturer to guarantee proper use and prevent injury by the consumer.
There are resilient basketball goals that have flexible support structures such as springs or hydraulic cylinders which are effective, but extremely complex as noted above. Several of these goals require the flexible support to be placed behind the backboard. Although these goals may be effective, their use is limited. For example, if such a goal was desired by a user, but that user did not have an existing backboard, they would need to purchase a backboard suitable to accommodate such a goal. If the flexible support were located entirely in front of the backboard, the goal could alternatively be attached to a vertical surface such as the wall of a house or the like.
Another concern with certain proposed resilient basketball goals is that they have fixed spring rates. The basketball goals are typically constructed such that the spring or other dampening device is set at a particular spring rate and cannot be adjusted. This could pose a problem after prolonged usage or for different levels of play. For example, if a player continuously "dunks" the ball in the goal, the spring rate will decrease over time. This problem could be solved, or at least delayed, by continuously tightening the spring and increasing the spring rate. Similarly, the spring rate could be decreased to allow for greater flexibility during periods of continuous "dunking." With goals that do not provide an adjustable spring, however, such adjustment is not possible.
Yet another concern with proposed resilient basketball goals is that the dampening assembly in the rim often tends to position the rim in such a manner that it is not parallel with the playing surface. This could be problematic for the user since the complexity of the basketball goal prevents the user from being able to make adjustments to the goal which would rectify the problem.
The foregoing demonstrates that there is a need for a resilient basketball goal assembly that is easily assembled by the consumer and adjusted by the user.